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See the World’s Most Iconic Hotels
National Geographic
They’re classic, even legendary, but these lodgings refuse to rest on their laurels.

Some hotels are destinations in their own right. Their fabled reputations draw travelers seeking a place with personality, that X factor that makes the destination as much of a joyful discovery as the journey, a home base with heart.

Whether you’re looking to rub shoulders with history at one of the world’s grandes dames, seeking sublime vistas, or sniffing out delicious food and wine, these hotels are guaranteed to enrich any travel experience.…MORE

Every week, hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway take you on a not-so-random walk through hot topics in markets, finance and economics.

When it comes to millennials, the media has certain tropes that it likes to go back to. Millennials love avocados. Millennials aren’t into homebuying. Millennials are always killing off this or that product or service. But what if the consumption lens is the totally wrong way to talk about this generation? On this week’s Odd Lots podcast, we speak to Malcolm Harris, the author of “Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials,” about what he says is a more useful frame for understanding the economic stresses millennials face.

Apr 24, 2018-Internationally-renowned artist Maura Moynihan’s art exhibition titled Who Loves Kathmandu More Than Me? opened at the premises of Kathmandu Art in Lazimpat on Saturday. The exhibition features a collection of Moynihan’s modern-contemporary artworks inspired by the Kathmandu Valley.

Artist Moynihan who has been making frequent visits to Kathmandu since the 1970s said, “When you fall under the spell of Kathmandu Valley, it is impossible not to paint,” adding, “I have great admiration for the people of Nepal. It is a plausible fact that Nepal’s stability is sustained by the artisans.”

How China’s Billions Are Modernising Pakistan’s Railways – And Quickly
Beijing is set to upgrade a 1,163-miles track from Karachi to Peshawar near the Afghan border with an $8 billion loan to Pakistan.

NDTV

Just a pledge from China to help upgrade Pakistan’s train network has prompted authorities in the South Asian nation to overhaul its colonial-era rail infrastructure.

For software businessman Farrukh Malik, the change was palpable. As he clambered aboard the 22-hour express service from coastal Karachi to the northern capital, Islamabad, Malik, 40, said he’d been a passenger on the line since he was a child. “The introduction of trains like Green Line which has lesser stops and runs strictly as per schedule is a great difference,”‘ he said as the train whistled to announce its 10 p.m. scheduled departure.

Beijing is set to upgrade a 1,163-miles track from Karachi to Peshawar near the Afghan border with an $8 billion loan to Pakistan. It’s part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road trade initiative, which includes $60 billion of badly-needed works financed in Pakistan.

‘For All Women’: Tireless Connecticut Mom Plans Her 9th Everest Summit
Lhakpa Sherpa is recognized by Guinness World Records and is well known in mountaineering circles, but she spends most of the year living a modest life in obscurity in West Hartford

CNBC

Between raising two daughters and working as a dishwasher at Whole Foods, Lhakpa Sherpa just doesn’t have time for training to climb Mount Everest. Even so, she has done it a record eight times — and hopes to outdo herself yet again.

The 44-year-old native of Nepal holds the world record for summits of Everest by a woman and plans to return this month for what has become an annual expedition to the top of the world.

“My body knows that I have already been this high. It’s like a computer. It figures it out very quickly. My body knows the high altitude. It remembers.”

Lhakpa Sherpa is recognized by Guinness World Records and is well known in mountaineering circles, but she spends most of the year living a modest life in obscurity in Connecticut, where she moved with her now ex-husband, another well-known climber, in 2002.

This self-made millionaire lifted her parents out of debt and bought them their first home

CNBC

Anna Haotanto was 21 when she set her first major financial goal: buy her parents a home before she turned 30.

At 28, she handed them a new set of house keys, and by the time her milestone birthday rolled around she was officially a millionaire.

Haotanto is not the founder of a multi-million-dollar tech start-up, nor did she grow up with money. In fact, quite the opposite: As a teenager, her family was saddled with thousands of dollars in credit card debts and ever-increasing rents on their apartment in Singapore after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis caused her parents’ textiles business to go bust.

Whether they’re beating themselves up over a mistake they made yesterday, or they’re fretting about how they’re going to succeed tomorrow, over-thinkers are plagued by distressing thoughts. Their inability to get out of their own heads leaves them in a state of constant anguish.

While everyone over-thinks things once in a while, some people just can’t ever seem to quiet the constant barrage of thoughts. Their inner monologue includes two destructive thought patterns — ruminating and worrying.

Ant Financial’s latest round of funding, reported to involve Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte, is said to value the Chinese provider of mobile payments at about $150 billion — 50 percent more than Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s market capitalization.

That would not only make Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group the world’s most-valuable startup, it would jump the payments business founded by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma into the top 15 among banks, insurers and credit providers by market value.

Pop quiz: Would you rather buy a home with 1990s laminate countertops or pristine marble? It seems like an easy “A,” yet many home sellers are so immune to pre-existing (read: old) features in their homes that they can’t understand why buyers can’t see past them too. But even if you aren’t ready to list your home just yet, a few smart changes can make a big difference in adding to your home’s value — especially in competitive markets like Los Angeles, CA.

If you want to increase your profit potential, strategic home improvement ideas in these six categories — some of which won’t cost you a thing — will give you the biggest return on your investment.